How to create leadership and innovation at work place?
I have just finished reading Richard Feynman’s book Surely you are joking Mr Feynman!” It’s a unique book in explaining how one of the great minds in physics thought about life, and more importantly how he maintained an innate curiosity and often questioned the very basic assumptions of physics in order to better understand the […]
Why peer review should be fun but can make you cry
The life of an academic is very much focused on and surrounded by the process of peer review. With peer review, I mean making and receiving comments on manuscripts that we have written or have been asked to read and assess for scientific journals. Most of us review papers for scientific journals in the hope […]
How to measure leadership and adaptation in 3 dimensions
This past week I had the chance to spend time with some really amazing women who are the next generation of great minds, critical yet equipped with a good sense of humour. In one of our conversations we spoke about leadership and self-perception, and how when we embark on self-development (or start dating), we need […]
Is conservation missing the boat on climate adaptation?
This week I have attended the 5th European Congress on Conservation, organised by Society of Conservation Biology. My reason attending this conference is that I am curious as to how climate adaptation is treated/examined in other fields (it’s also in Finland, which of course is a plus). In general, I want to have a better […]
Rebuilding in a changing world
This week, several news items have focused on rebuilding and relocation. There are many areas that have experienced devastating disasters where people still rebuild, often because they do not necessarily have a choice. Others are willing to take more risks and assess for example living in a flood prone area as a gamble that they […]
Trends in the making? Finance and Climate
In the past week, several trends again are emerging, which to me are clear signals that we are seeing change. One of these is the continuing list of banks that are going to stop lending to activities and organisations that damage the environment. The latest bank to join others is the Royal Bank of Scotland, […]
Time for a new paradigm in capacity building?
This week a news item caught my attention, an interview piece with Saleem Huq, the director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development. The commentary focused on the issue of capacity building, climate finance and how this is being dealt with in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is often a […]
How to buy a property in a changing climate
I have been toying with the idea of finally having something of my own rather than paying someone else’s mortgage with my rent. This seems to make sense from investment point of view and I am inherently interested in the kind of information people need to make smart decisions in this space. When I have […]
Communicating climate adaptation: what could go wrong?
This past week I have attended the Climate Adaptation 2018: Learn, Collaborate, Act Conference in Melbourne that gathers scientists, policymakers and non-governmental organisations to hear the latest discussions and science on climate change adaptation. I was asked to chair a panel session on Communicating around Climate Adaptation with four super stars: Karl Braganza, Doug Parsons, Hallie […]
How to maintain and access organisational memory
It struck me the other day when I was speaking with a colleague that institutional knowledge and memory is really retained in people. With institutional knowledge and memory I mean the knowledge about who does what, how things really work, who you need to talk to to get access to particular information. It is the […]